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Published: April 5th 2007
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view of bangkok
on a bus boat! Hello again my peeps in Blighty.
It's been a while since the last time we got off our backsides and bothered to write some blog so here is some more of our saga. We left the Island hopping fun and games and headed for Bangkok, the place is buzzing with loads going on day and night and compared to the islands was hectic. In a nutshell we saw temples, buddhas and all that stuff and ate local drank local and cramed a fair bit in for the two days we were there. Thailand has been cool but I think the capital is bar far the worst place in the country, as one of the locals said in Khao Yai "Bangkok is not Thailand"! It has some great attractions but people are aggresive due to all us foreigners coming for the cheap whisky and holidays.
Our next step was Khao Yai National park, one of the few remaining Monsoonial rainforests in Asia, the journey on the local train was long and we missed our stop by a measly 80k oops! so had to get the local bus back to Pak Chong the correct station. By this point it was
big buddha
a giant representation of buddha in the center of the city pissing down and by the time we got to the guest house it was around 8pm, we left Bangkok at 10am. The guest house was cool a real jungle feel and all the insects being jumbo size, snails the size of fists, woodlice the size of sausages and millipedes upto a foot long. The scorpion we found in our bedroom was a nice treat too!. The trek in the Rainforest was phenomenal, so many interesting creatures, Gibbons, Macacques, Pythons, Tigers, Elephants, Giant Squirrels, Asian Dogs, Hornbills to name a few. The leeches were nice but they drop off in a couple of days the ticks however can stay in you for a year, nice. Recomend anyone who travels Thailand to do it, the guides were wicked so check out the Greenleaf Guesthouse.
We Met some cool people and two awesome French Laurent and Karine who were driving round Thailand for 2 weeks to military precision but in a good way, (he il est une heure c'est l'heure de manger!) So the next 24 hours we tagged along with them seeing some crazy ruins in remote places the names two hard to spell so just look at the pictures. In
my favorite
everybody is driving scooters in Bangkok and so much of those perfect and magnifique Vespas!!!!!! the evening we went to tyhe night bazaar/ market and wandered around eating some funky shit, some coconut delights and crickets and grubs, yum. Not as bad as you think, crickets get stuck in your teeth though and the grubs are similar to salty fish.
The next day was spent travelling to Aranya Prathet on the border before we crossed the border to Cambodia, my hair at this point was a complete mess and it's soooooooo hot decided to chop it off, bye bye. Was a little scary when the Thai barber got the cut throat out.
We ate whole frogs on the border bones and all, pleasantly surprised, you should try them if you ever get the chance.
Crossing the border to cambodia was an experience, people with self drawn carts bringing their goods and wares to and from, poverty stricken kids asking for money and slapping you on refusal and plenty of people trying to rip you off with Visa offers, just go to the main gate where you go through and its childs play costing around $25. On the other side it's pretty run down and you either take the bus or a taxi, bus
is cheap but long and taxis can be made cheaper by sharing with travellers or locals. The ride was great, a rollercoaster of a ride due to the delapedated roads where there seems to be no one side you drive on with people swerving and swinging around each other. Never thought you could fit so many people on vehicles some of them so over crowded people literally cling to the sides and bearing in mind when I say a bumpy road it is an under statement. Found it slightly amusing to discover that our car was gas powered as we took off over a huge dip in the road.
Checked into a guesthouse in Siem Reap and went exploring, the place is great and has loads of culture and atmosphere, a real eye opener to see land mine victims, naked kids begging and all sorts going on aroung you. Like anywhere you have to haggle at every oportunity. We have checked some of out the temples Bayon, Angkor Wat, and a few others all breathtaking and unimaginable how people built them so long ago in such an inhospitable land, I particularly enjoyed one with huge old trees and vines
crazy drivers
it's amazing how much they can fit on a moped! growing through the buildings slowly destroying it. Over-heard one of the guides talking about the Tomb Raider film being made there. Although there are loads of ruins to see One day of full on viewing is enough and it is quite pricey as well around $20 for one day, we were whisked about by our own private Tuk Tuk all day for $10, pretty sweet. Next to Phnom Penh and then onto Vietnam which we are thorougly looking forward too. One place I have been hearing from other travellers that is a must go to is Laos, an excuse to come back soon conviniently.
Your tour of Nam starts soon soldier.
Peace and love you hooligans.
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